


luster

by angstandcaffeine



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: F/F, pre-existing helladaire and helladelaide
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-16
Updated: 2019-04-16
Packaged: 2020-01-14 20:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18483529
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angstandcaffeine/pseuds/angstandcaffeine
Summary: luster - the unique, internally emanating glow that distinguishes pearls from all other gems.Adaire wakes up one night in Adularia.





	luster

Adaire knew she was dreaming when she felt the pearl choker around her neck.

She opened her eyes, and found herself in an empty hallway. Noise came from the room at the end of the hall. Adaire followed the sound, hoping to find the woman who had summoned her.

Adelaide sat at a small table in the ornate room, apparently having tea. The table was set for two, with a tea pot and trays of pastries laid out. She looked up at her and smiled. “Adaire. Lovely to see you. Sit.”

She did, perching on the edge of her seat. “Can’t say I expected to see you tonight.”

“I half expected to see you last week, what with the dragon and all.” She prepared her a cup of tea as she spoke.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but I would gladly wait to see you if it meant I didn’t die.” She took the tea cup and froze, cup inches from her lips. “I’m not dead, am I?”

“Oh, no,” she scoffed. “Surely you know from Hella that I have means of communication beyond the moment of death.”

“I assumed that was just something special for your knight.”

“It’s not about her knighthood, it’s about my desire.”

Adaire finally took a sip of her tea, an excuse to break Adelaide’s intense eye contact. They sat in silence for a moment. Well, if Adelaide wasn’t going to tell her why she was here, she might as well take the opportunity to gather some information. “Your connection to Hella- how often are you… using it?”

“Jealousy isn’t a good look on you, Adaire.”

“That’s not what I mean.” She blushed against her will. “How does it work? Are you feeling what she’s feeling all the time?”

“I’m a busy woman, what with building an afterlife and all. But I check in with her when I can. We spent a lot of time together in Aubade, and even more before that, and it’s hard to be away from a partner for so long.” She finished the pastry she was eating, something that smelled like apples and cherries. “But I didn’t bring you here to talk about Hella.”

“Then why am I here?”

Adelaide smiled. “To talk about you, of course.”

Adaire’s stomach flipped.

“I find myself in a unique position,” Adelaide continued, “of seeing the world through my own eyes and the eyes of another. It would be ignorant to pretend she has had no effect.”

“I thought you said this wasn’t about Hella.”

She sighed, shaking her head. “She is very fond of you, as I’m sure you know.”

Adaire smirked, mind filling with a flood of memories of moments between the two of them, a few from earlier this evening. “Yes, I’m well aware.”

Adelaide seemed to ignore her innuendo. “And her fondness can be quite contagious.”

She leaned back in her chair, sensing an opening to take the upper hand. “Is it?”

“I know better than to ask you to serve me as a knight.”

“A good choice.”

“But I think a partnership between us could be mutually beneficial.”

“And what would that entail, exactly?”

“You’re a very skilled woman, Adaire, and I could use those skills.”

Adaire pounced. She leaned forward, chin resting in her hand as she spoke. “I don’t deal in coy. I deal in contracts, in specificity, in information. I know I’m useful. Tell me why I should let you use me.”

Adelaide seemed to blush, a little. Adaire tried her best not to show her pleasure at that. Then she composed herself. “I worry about the Cult of the Dark Son. I worry about anyone who would continue to take and shape and worship nothingness. And I worry about sending my favorite blunt instrument into a situation against them.”

“She won’t be going in alone. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

“That’s good to hear,” Adelaide smiled softly. “But let her protect you too. You two work best together -- at least, that’s what I’ve heard.” The smile morphed into a smirk.

“And you? Who keeps you safe?”

“Well, that’s why I have the two of you, isn’t it?”

Oh. Adaire hadn’t realized how important Adelaide had considered her. Or even that Adelaide had considered her something of meaning beyond her (separate) relationship with Hella. And looking into Adelaide’s deep and smiling eyes, Adaire finally, _finally,_ understood why she had been summoned to Adularia.

She stood and moved her chair to be next to her instead of across the table. She refilled Adelaide’s tea, and then her own. And then she turned to face her, looking up, unsure of what to say. Unconsciously, her finger fluttered upwards to play with the pearls at her throat.

“But perhaps we don’t need to talk about such things tonight.” Adelaide took a sip of the tea she had poured her. “I feel like I’ve heard so much about you, but none of it from your lips.”

“What do you want to know?”

“Anything.”

“I don’t know that I feel like talking tonight.”

“That’s fine too.”

Adaire took the tea cup out of Adelaide’s hand and gently placed it back on the table. And then, not so gently, she pushed herself up and kissed her. Adelaide responded positively, wrapping her arm around her, hand resting on the small of her back. Her other hand floated to the back of Adaire’s neck, fingers curling into her hair. Adaire pressed her luck, abandoning her chair for Adelaide’s.

Adelaide smiled, breaking the kiss for the moment. “I would love for you to spend the night, if you would like to.”

She pretended to think about it. “I don’t think I have anything better to do.”

She began to slowly remove the pins from Adaire’s hair, letting it fall from its tight bun. “Do you want to finish your tea, or should I show you the royal quarters?”

Adaire rolled her eyes at the line. She glanced behind her at the table, still full of tea and pastries. “Will it be there when we get back?”

“You may not be able to return in time. I’m powerful, but not infinite.”

“Such modesty.” She shoved a scone and two danishes into the pocket of her dress. “Okay, let’s go.”

Adelaide laughed, covering her mouth with her hand. “Resourceful, as always.” Then she reached out, and Adaire took her hand and followed.

 

 

Adaire woke back up in her own bed, inches away from Hella. She felt well-rested, thankful for that despite how little it seemed like she had slept. She rolled over, kissing Hella on the forehead. She was happy to see her, of course, but she couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to wake up next to Adelaide. Someday she’d have to arrange things so they could all three share a bed together. 

But for now, Hella blinked awake. “Good morning.”

“Morning,” Adaire yawned. “I think I slept with your girlfriend last night.”

Hella snorted. “In my experience, you’ll know if you slept with Adelaide.” She stared at something over her shoulder.

Adaire turned over to look at it. Sitting on the nightstand was the choker she had worn in Adularia the night before. She groaned. “Would you tell her that I’m not wearing that?”

Hella laughed. “Why don’t we go get breakfast, and we can talk about what happened?”

Adaire agreed, slipping the pearl choker not around her neck, but into a pocket of her dress, still close. With a new clasp and a few adjustments, it would make a beautiful bracelet.

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on twitter @angstcaffeine anxiously attempting to decipher janine's tweets


End file.
